GSW, Thunder notch up wins

Washington, Dec. 28: Kevin Durant scored 21 points to lead six double- figure scorers for defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors pulled away in the third quarter to beat Utah 126- 101 Wednesday.

The Warriors hit 33- of- 46 shots in the second half, outscoring the Jazz 42- 22 in the third quarter to blow open a close game in which Durant who added six rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

“Utah played really physical and they played defense like we hadn’t seen before,” Durant said.

“We knew in the second half they would tire out because they were moving around a lot so we stayed with our offense and in the third quarter we started pulling away.”

Pat McCaw added a seasonhigh 18 points off the bench while Klay Thompson and Nick Young each scored 15 points for the Warriors, who own the NBA’s best record at 28- 7.

Rodney Hood scored 26 off the bench to lead Utah.

Sacramento’s Vince Carter came off the bench to score 24 points and fellow reserve Willie CauleyStein added 17 points and nine rebounds to power the host Kings over the Cleveland Cavaliers 109- 95.

LeBron James compiled a triple double in a losing cause with 16 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds while Kevin Love scored 23 points as every Cavalier who played also scored.

Tyreke Evans scored 32 points and added seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies over the host Los Angeles Lakers 109- 99. Brandon Ingram led the Lakers witrh 23 points.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City’s win streak reached six games as Paul George scored 33 points on 11- of- 17 shooting and Russell Westbrook added 30 points and 13 assists in the Thunder’s 124- 107 home triumph. — AFP